Published: September 08, 2009 06:06 pm      

Growing support — 09/09/09

Still not robust community gardens show great promise

The small community gardens growing on a leveled hilltop in the Debord Terrace apartment complex would never win any awards. Late in the growing season, the plants are just beginning to produce food for the gardeners. Even with ideal weather this autumn, the yield from the gardens will be far from robust.

But the fact that gardens exist at all is a tribute to the commitment and perseverance of those involved with the city’s first community gardens and of the promise of better things to come. After the failure of the first community gardens at the same location in 2008, few would have blamed those involved in the gardens if they had thrown in the towel and abandoned the idea of creating small, 20-by-20 gardens for low-income families who live in the city-owned, government-subsidized housing project. Those first gardens succeeded in providing fresh vegetables for the deer, but little — if any— for the residents who planted the seeds, watered the plants and hoed the weeds.

But instead of giving up, the gardeners — many of them having a garden for the first time in their lives — vowed to try again in 2009, and Ashland City Commissioner Cheryl Spriggs, who has headed the community garden project, promised to work to see that the problems that led to the failure of the first gardens would not be repeated in 2009.

For awhile, it did not look like Spriggs would be able to fulfill that promise. When the 2009 growing season came in March and April and the first plants should have been in the ground, the garden area looked much the same as it did in 2008.

But then things began to happen. Danny VanNatter of Stephens Pipe and Steel of Ona, W.Va., donated fencing for the garden property, and Boyd County Jailer Joe Burchett had inmates for the Boyd County Detention Center construct the fence.

The city ran a water line where the gardeners could hook a hose and water their small gardens. A number of businesses and individuals — including Ashland Milling and Childers Nursery — donated plants for the gardens.

However, because of the late start, the first gardens were not planted until July.

The community’s support for the gardens is understandable. The community gardens are not a hand-out program that simply provides food for the poor. Instead, the small gardens provide the means for lower-income families to help themselves. The community gardens are not a modern-day version of “The Little Red Hen” where everyone shares in the work of a few. Instead, each gardener is responsible for his or her plot of ground and each one gets the produce from their garden.

Others are involved in the gardens. Lori Bowling of the Boyd County Extension Service is using her expertise to help the inexperienced gardeners, and she plans to offer classes in gardening at Debord Terrace during the winter. Tony Mosser, an employee of the Ashland Department of Community Development, has taken in the community gardens as his public service project required to become a Master Gardener and is constantly working to improve the gardens. Ray Akers, an experienced gardener and resident of Debord Terrace, has taken on the responsibility of overseeing the gardens. The Foundation for the Tri-State Community has provided the funds to purchase a building at the gardens in which to store tools.

There is a way for more area residents to get involved in helping the gardens, said Mosser and Akers. Because the level ground on which the gardens are planted was created by a bulldozer when the apartments were built, the soil is of poor quality. Mosser said residents can help improve the soil by donating bagged leaves, mulch and potting soil to the community garden project. The apartment complex is providing a space near the gardens where such items can be dropped off.

Spriggs envisions a time when there are community gardens throughout the city, but she has learned that her initial plans were too ambitious. Instead of moving too quickly, she now wants to make the first gardens successful and grow from there.

The fence has taken care of the deer problem, and the gardens should be ready for planting in March 2010, giving them a much longer growing season. If the soil is improved, the gardens also will grow better.

We commend those involved in the community gardens — particularly the gardeners — for not giving up. Their perseverance ultimately will lead to a bountiful yield of fresh produce for their tables.